Monday, June 17, 2013
Rena's Very Last Chemo Treatment Today!
Rena had her very last chemotherapy treatment today. Her good friend Giselle stayed over and went with us to the clinic today, which made the day so much more fun for Rena. She hardly realized that she had been given the treatment! Below are pictures of Rena at the clinic with Giselle, with the nurse who gave Rena her very first treatment 2 1/2 long years ago, and with Martin Klebba, an actor who played a pirate in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It is such as relief to be done. We are looking forward to a great summer and high school for Rena in the fall.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Only 3 Chemo Treatments to go - we'll be done in June!
Hello everyone!
We haven't posted anything in a while because everything has been going very well. Some important things to note. First Rena has been gaining weight and getting taller. She is nearly 5 ft! And her growth trajectory shows her moving out of the low percentile for her age group. This is really great news since she struggled to put on weight for a long time. Also, her hair is really growing and is passing her shoulders now.
The last 3 months Rena has had kidney stone issues. In February she had symptoms suggesting a urinary tract infection, but cultures showed no infection. An ultrasound revealed 3 kidney stones, one of which was passing from her kidneys and into her bladder and causing significant discomfort. She was admitted to the hospital for a short time while the first kidney stone passed. The stones have bothered her a few times since then, but fortunately there hasn't been a repeat trip to the hospital. Subsequent appointments and tests have revealed that the stones are likely calcium based (meaning no strange issues etc.) and so it is likely that the kidney stone issues will be minimized if Rena just stays hydrated!
She has her 3rd to the last chemotherapy treatment tomorrow. The end is in sight! After 2 1/2 years of chemotherapy Rena is on track to finish at the end of June!
Rena has an exciting summer planned. She will visit her dad (and that side of the family) in Washington for several weeks in July. In the beginning of August, Rena will go to a fine arts camp to spend two weeks drawing, painting and making friends. Her friend Gizelle will also be going and they hope to be cabin mates. Finally in later August we will be visited by my sister Katie and her family, who are traveling to the U.S. from Sydney Australia.
In the fall Rena starts her freshman year in high school! Rena is so glad that she will be all finished with chemo and ready to start high school with a clean bill of health.
Cheers,
Ginger
We haven't posted anything in a while because everything has been going very well. Some important things to note. First Rena has been gaining weight and getting taller. She is nearly 5 ft! And her growth trajectory shows her moving out of the low percentile for her age group. This is really great news since she struggled to put on weight for a long time. Also, her hair is really growing and is passing her shoulders now.
The last 3 months Rena has had kidney stone issues. In February she had symptoms suggesting a urinary tract infection, but cultures showed no infection. An ultrasound revealed 3 kidney stones, one of which was passing from her kidneys and into her bladder and causing significant discomfort. She was admitted to the hospital for a short time while the first kidney stone passed. The stones have bothered her a few times since then, but fortunately there hasn't been a repeat trip to the hospital. Subsequent appointments and tests have revealed that the stones are likely calcium based (meaning no strange issues etc.) and so it is likely that the kidney stone issues will be minimized if Rena just stays hydrated!
She has her 3rd to the last chemotherapy treatment tomorrow. The end is in sight! After 2 1/2 years of chemotherapy Rena is on track to finish at the end of June!
Rena has an exciting summer planned. She will visit her dad (and that side of the family) in Washington for several weeks in July. In the beginning of August, Rena will go to a fine arts camp to spend two weeks drawing, painting and making friends. Her friend Gizelle will also be going and they hope to be cabin mates. Finally in later August we will be visited by my sister Katie and her family, who are traveling to the U.S. from Sydney Australia.
In the fall Rena starts her freshman year in high school! Rena is so glad that she will be all finished with chemo and ready to start high school with a clean bill of health.
Cheers,
Ginger
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